Do you know where this TD21 drophead is now? This London street photo was taken in 1989 by Coen van der Weiden. The now elderly owner of the car for some twenty years up to 1986 would like to see it again. Registered 671 HYK.

Delivered to Henly’s of Manchester on 14th July 1932 I started life as a 12/50 TJ Atlantic saloon by Carbodies. I am recorded in “The Vintage Alvis” as a UK Survivor, car number 14618 registered XJ 2151, chassis 9771, engine 9043 with my original body first replaced by a Shooting Brake and then again in the 1960s with another original Atlantic Carbodies by my current custodian who is now in care. If you will take care of me and preserve my body, an offer in excess of £20,000 may persuade my keepers to part with me once you have inspected me at my home in Louth, Lincolnshire. To make an appointment to visit, please complete the box below:

Some new pictures have been posted on the Speed 25 page and the Silver Eagle page including details of a Silver Eagle special being sold from a deceased estate.

The son of a former SA owner is trying to trace a car:

I talked to your good people at the Classic Car Show (NEC) about an Alvis Speed 20 owned by my father. I attach photos of the car, taken from an Isle of Man Tourist Board film made in the late 50’s or early 60’s. It had, I understand, raced on the Island before WWII – perhaps in the Mannin Beg race/s ? It carried the registration JMN 849. I would be very interested indeed to hear if you have any knowledge of the car. Best regards Peter Standen

Thanks to enthusiastic scanning of our archive material by Chris Bluer we have enhanced the COACHWORK page with more period announcements from Autocar. We are grateful to Haymarket for permission to reproduce these items.

Among the library additions is a montage of Speed reviews from the 1950s:Two further Used Cars on the Road Tests have been added to the page Speed 20 SA

A recent auction found a new home for a one owner TD21 Series II drophead but had little pre-sale publicity.

26905 TD21 Series II

The deceased AOC member had a further three Alvis which we are trying to trace.

7287 FWD FD Le Mans replica

Mark Hayward is planning to take part in the Le Mans Classic in July in his front wheel drive.

Wayne Brooks has been busy adding to his website with the ever lengthening histories of this sought after model.

14832 Carlton Dhc 4.3 ALV 100 in the 2018 London New Year Parade

The four-three Alvis is one model that many consider superior to the contemporary Bentley and perhaps the only period during which Alvis and Bentley were in competition. However, as Tony Rudd, a Rolls-Royce apprentice engineer at that time, remarked on our gala dinner night on the 1991 Tour of Britain “Alvis didn’t make enough of them for Bentley to be worried”. On that evening Tony and his wife Pam had been chauffeured by Wayne from their home to the dinner at the Hotel Nelson in Norwich in the 4.3 tourer BSF 345, which now resides back in USA with a Bentley owner.

14810 4.3 Cross and Ellis tourer BSF 345 – Wayne receiving a bill of sale in 1990. This car was copied for the green Franklin Mint model with the unpainted bonnet.

Many prominent Bentley owners also own an Alvis or two. The post war cars were complementary to the Crewe products, offering coachbuilt quality cars of more modest dimensions. Park Ward were of course a Rolls-Royce owned company. Our Patron, Mike Dunn, became chief engineer at Crewe, responsible for the Turbo R development and was a consultant on the new Phantom after he retired.

Both Alvis and Bentley will be celebrating their centenaries in 2019 and we have been discussing inviting the best of both marques and other selected British marques to an exclusive event in June 2019 at Bowcliffe Hall, on the Friday and Saturday prior to International Alvis Day which is based in York.

If you are interested in showing your Alvis or Bentley, please leave a comment below with details of your car.

Alvis TA21 Tickford – often the choice of stars of stage and screen, did you know that Superman owned one ? A note from Geoff Boxall, who now owns 25057, reminded us of the story of George Reeves who played Superman in the 1950s and died of a gun shot wound in 1959 at the age of 45.

In case you think Superman was played by Christopher Reeve, you would be right, but he was one of fourteen actors who played the character.

The mystery surrounding the death was the subject of another movie “Hollywoodland” and Wayne Brooks was instrumental in arranging for an appropriate car for the film. However, another press article forwarded by Geoff implies that the Reeves car was chassis 25019. Click here for the article.

Wayne writes “The Bob Doss TA21 is 25019, now with a Chevy V8 and other modifications. Louis Panuse, a previous owner, told me he purchased the car from a used car lot in 1956.

George Keefer Brewer, later George Bessolo, aka George Reeves, the TV Superman, was murdered, or committed suicide, on 16 June 1959. He reportedly still owned his TA21, identified as 25050, when he died.

On 3 March 2005, Glen Hughes, who identified

himself as a producer of a film, starring Ben Affleck, about George Reeves, the TV Superman, being filmed in Ontario, inquired about the whereabouts of the George Reeves TA21. At the time 25050 was in The Netherlands. With the consent of Lorne Plunkett, I suggested he contact Lorne about using his TA21, 25057, since it was the TA21 drophead closest to the filming location.”

Peter Brown asks “Does anyone recognise the artist responsible for this drawing? It was bought recently as one of a set of four, the other three comprise two Rolls-Royce 25/30s and a Bentley 4.25 The signature ‘Mayfair’ may or may not refer to the coachbuilder. Do you have any clues? I bought the drawings from someone in Zimbabwe who said he purchased the set years ago at an auction locally. Tom Clarke, the R-R historian, thinks the artist is Laurence Fish but Fish’s widow disagrees.”

Talking of fine drawings we are always delighted when Tony Philips-Smith (aka APSLEY) features an

As Europe gets a covering of the white stuff our friends down under just started summer with warnings of massive thunderstorms and heavy rain. John Lang reports Victoria has had areas of 200mm of rain in 24hrs and most rivers with flood warnings. Whatever the weather is your Alvis ready?While this month’s Bulletin is a bit delayed, this is what was on offer twenty years ago…